PHILIPPINES
The Standard
December 02, 2015
by Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and John Paolo Bencito
CATHOLIC Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Socrates Villegas expressed his disgust Tuesday over PDP-Laban standard bearer Rodrigo Duterte for cursing Pope Francis in a speech Monday, and denounced his adultery, killing and vulgarity as forms of corruption.
While Duterte supporters sought to do damage control, the Davao City mayor shot back at the Catholic Church, saying he was abused as a child by a Catholic priest when he was studying at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University.
“I was abused by one of you when I was young,” Duterte said, addressing himself to Church leaders who criticized him. “Priests are also corrupt.”
When pressed for details about his abuse, Duterte blurted: “The priest was holding my penis, where else?”
He said his revelations would “destroy the church and the present status of so many priests.”
“I will tell you the names of the prominent persons who were my batch mates [in the Ateneo.] All of us were victims of sexual abuses committed against minors at that time, including me. And I will tell you my story.”
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